Time's Up
by Kerika
Summary: What happens when Beckett and Castle come across a crime scene Castle has seen before? The dynamic duo team up with the best FBI team to catch a monster.  And will this case bring the partners closer together?
1. Chapter 1

Kate Beckett walked up to the smouldering building, her constant shadow two steps behind her. The fire had just been put out, and in the wreckage, the firefighters had found a body that looked to have been tied up just inside the and called it in. Walking up to Lanie, she she didn't even have to ask what was going on before the M.E. was off.

"Girl, don't even ask, i have no idea. There isn't much left of whoever this is. I wont be able to make any sort of id until i get back to the morgue."

"Male, 45-55, fat" Castle piped up with just a cursory glance at the bones that were left, causing both Kate and Lanie to look up at him like he was crazy.

"Ooookaaayyy...anyways, I'll let you know what i know when i find out." Lanie said, completely dismissing Castle's comment. Just as the small group was breaking up, there came a shout from further within the building.

"Beckett! You might want to get in here!" Ryan called from deeper within the mostly ruined building, "we've got more bodies!"

This statement cause all three of them to turn and head into where Ryan and Esposito were standing in what had been a door frame that entered into a large open room. Coming to stand just beside them, the group looked at the chaos within. Hanging from the ceiling in a circle was twelve chain nooses, some still had mostly burned bodies hanging from them, and where there weren't bodies, there was a pile of bones and burnt flesh. Beckett let out a swear, Lanie stood gaping, and Castle was walking toward the body that was closest and on the floor while pulling a pair of gloves out of his pocket.

"Hey! Castle, what the hell are you..."

"Beckett, don't ask until I can tell you more" he said cutting her off and throwing a steely look over his shoulder. He continued moving towards the body, bending down when he reached it, still with the group of detectives standing behind him gaping. Reaching into the mess of bones and flesh, he found what he was looking for, and slowly ran his fingers along the upper part of the femur, closing his eyes when he felt the etching he had been looking for, but had prayed he wouldn't find. Lowering his head, he muttered a swear, a prayer, and then another swear. Retracting his hand, he looked behind him to see many different looks on his friends faces. Confusion, anger, surprise, and impatience. Standing up, walked towards Kate.

"What the hell are you doing Castle, you know your not suppose to touch the bodies, that's Lanie's job." she said, looking him on the face.

Coming to stand right in front of her, Castle looked her in the eye and explained "Beckett...you need to phone in the FBI. This" with an arm sweeping the room "is bigger than you and bigger than New York. You need to request Dr. Temperance Brennan. She works with a Special Agent Seely Booth. We will need her..." taking a deep breath he looked down at the ground "We will need her to make ID's and confirm my suspicions."

"What suspicions? What do you know Castle?"

"I...I've seen this before, I've dealt with this before and" shaking his head side to side "and if this is the same man...if he is here...its not good. Even in my darkest days of writing crime scenes, i could never repeat, even in words, what this man has done. So you need to call." and with that he turned away from the shocked looks that were being thrown his way and walked out into the night air.


	2. Chapter 2

_So, thanks for reading, i am working on maybe 12-14 chapters for this story. It might end up a little ooc, but thats what happens when your trying to enter in some emotional made up stuff. Reviews would be great!_

Dr. Temperance Brennan had just (finally) fallen asleep when she was woken by the ringing of her phone. Reaching over and snatching the offending phone off the nightstand, and after checking the caller ID answered.

"wha?" she mumbled into the phone.

"Mornin' Bones, time to get up!" and overly cheerful Seely Booth said into her ear. "We've got a case! I'll be there in half an hour, pack for a week. Were going on a road trip" and with that, he hung up the phone. Laying on her back, Brennan though that should would just get five more minutes...

"Bones! Are you still sleeping?" caused Brennan to startle out of her sound sleep.

Cracking open an eye, she looked into the brown eyes looming over her. "Booth, how did you get in here?" She asked, sleep making her voice quite and husky.

"My key, duh." Booth said, still in a cheerful voice. "Come'on, time to get up!"

"Booth" she grumbled as she threw the covers back and started to climb off her bed "you are way to happy this morning. Whats going on?"

"Were going to New York! We were requested specifically" he said. Ever since he and Hannah had broken up (she had put herself and Parker in danger and thought it was 'no big deal' for a 'story') he and Brennan had gotten closer, and while neither had yet crossed _that_ boundary, they were spending almost every evening and weekend together. "So you gotta get up and packed. I'll go make some coffee, and toast your breakfast for you." he said as he exited her bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, a much more awake and alert Brennan walked into the living room, clutching the coffee that she had found sitting on her dresser after she had her shower. In her other hand, she had a small suitcase with a weeks worth of clothes. Looking in her kitchen she saw Booth standing over her toaster watching the two bagels he had popped in there for their breakfast. When he heard her, he turned to face her.

"Ready Bones? As soon as the bagels are done, we can get on the way. Five hours and we will be in NYC!"

After climbing into the SUV Brennan asked about the case.

"Well, I don't really know much, just that we have been requested to help with the ID of thirteen victims and aid in the capture of whoever did it. They were found in a burned out building. That's all they were really able to tell me."

"Alright, well, I am going to have a nap, wake me when we get there."

Five hours later, Booth was pulling into the heavier New York traffic and trying to wake Brennan.

"Bones." Her reply was a mumbled "No". "Bones, time to wake up" He said a little louder, while shaking her arm.

"What?" She asked, finally waking up.

"Where about 20 minutes from the crime scene, i figured you would want to wake up a bit before we actually got there."

"Thanks Booth." she said on a yawn and a stretch.

When they pulled up to the crime scene, Booth got out and did a cursory look around the scene, making first impressions of the people milling around while Brennan got her bag out of the truck. After she had joined him, they started to make their way to the largest group of people when out of nowhere Brennan started to run forwards towards a man who had broken away from the group. They met halfway between the people they had left, and she threw her arms around his neck with a laugh, and he circled her waist and spun her around.

"Barbie girl! I am so glad you came" the man said "but i am not happy you came at the same time."

"I don't know what that means" Brennan said, still with a smile on her face. "Oh," she went on, turning herself away from him and grabbing Booths arm "GI-Joe, this is Seely Booth, my partner, Booth this is Richard Castle, most people call him Castle."

The men shook hands, both sizing each other up, just as Kate made her way over to the group.

"Brennan, Agent Booth, this is Detective Kate Beckett, my partner" The women shook hands, and then Beckett and Booth. After the introductions were done, Castle turned back to Brennan "I'm sorry Bren" Castle went on, his face a mask "Its... it looks like...him" he said in a quite voice, so that only the four of them could hear him. The rest of the group of detectives and the M.E. were watching from a few feet away. As soon as he had said this, Brennan went very pale.

"No. It can't be, we..." looking at the two cops who had confused looks on their faces and then back to Castle "we took care of him. I know we did." she said softly

"Then its a copycat...but its there."

"And your sure?"

"We haven't moved anything, but i felt it, we'll know more when we can examine the remains under a scope, but i am sure."

"Show me"

The group, having asked everyone else to stay out, moved towards the ruins. Both Beckett and Booth at this time were starting to loose their patience with their partners, but seeing as how they had shut them out and moved away without another word to either one, followed behind a few paces. When they entered the large room, Booth let out a soft swear at the chains and the bodies everywhere. Beckett stopped beside him, both just inside the door, as Castle and Brennan moved to inspect the bodies.

"So. Have any idea what is going on?" Booth asked the detective.

"Not a clue, all i know is that Castle came in here, looked at the set-up, pulled on a pair of gloves and felt around one of the bodies on the group before telling me to phone you guys up and ordered everyone else out. Then he walked out himself, and its taken me almost five hours just to get him to smile again. How about you? Any ideas?"

"Well... there was this case that she had, before i knew her. It was in Guatemala, and she wont tell me about it. But i know something happened because she was ordered to go there, and i cant get the file. She actually has a higher security clearance than me, and i think she blocked it herself. So...maybe. But that wouldn't explain what your partner has to do with it."

"She's a writer too, right?"

"Yup. Oh, that's Richard Castle, as in the Storm series right?"

"The one and the same."

"How did you get mixed up with him?"

"Research. So he says"

"Oh, so your Nikki Heat? That's ok, I'm Andy Lister."

"I am not Nikki Heat." She said firmly. "She is just based **very loosely** on me."

"But that came out three years ago! Why is he still around? I know from Bones' work she only needs about a day or two with someone before she can make up enough to fill a book or two."

"Your guess is as good as mine-"

"Booth!" Brennan called over to her partner. He slowly made his way over to her, the Detective following closely.

"Whats up Bones?"

"Booth, i need to examine these remains closer, is there a place that will be available for me to do this?"

"Ahhh..." He said as he looked over to Beckett "Detective?"

"Yes, will the morgue work, its large, and, thanks to Castle, has some updated equipment, so i could make arrangements."

"Thank you, i will also need a live link to the Jeffersonian. And Castle. And make sure your team gathers the particulates correctly and have them sent back to my lab. And i will need a photo from above, after your team sweeps the ashed from the floor. But make sure they leave the chains where they are."

"OK, i can see to that" she said, a little sarcasm in her voice.

"Okay, Bones, we" his finger pointing between himself and Beckett "need to know what is going on. And soon please."

Brennan and Castle looked at each other, their partners highly aware of the conversation that was going on without a word being said.

"How about we leave CSU to move everything, and we go back to the loft, Mother and Alexis are in California, so we will be alone." Castle suggested.

"OK, lets go" Brennan replied to him while leading the others out of the building.


	3. Chapter 3

After arriving at the loft everyone grabbed drinks and then settled onto the couches and chairs. Booth and Beckett looked at Brennan and Castle expectantly, waiting to hear the truth behind what was going on.

"GI-Joe, I will tell the story, i tend to embellish less."

"Sounds good Barbie Girl. I will follow your lead."

"Alright... I had just finished getting my first doctorate, and i had gone to Guatemala to work on a dig that they had going there, and Castle came with me. We had known each other for years, having met when i had just gone into the system. Martha had wanted to take me in, but due to the fact that she was unmarried and already had a child, they wouldn't let her. Castle had just started his writing career, having spent the last many years going to university and doing writing on the side. He wanted to have a good insight into the human body, and how it worked, what happened when people died, that kind of stuff. And who better than an almost sister that was a doctor? Who's major was forensics? And so, we went off, volunteering to make history.

Once we were down there, strange things began to happen. People were going missing, no trace of them. Castle and i started to walk around armed, and ended up bunking together, to reduce the chance of one of us being taken. After a few weeks there, i was called to a fire, to help identify the bodies that had been found there. Upon arrival at the building, we went in and saw twelve chain nooses, holding twelve bodies. They had mostly been burnt and one or two had fallen. After a closer inspection, i noticed a small marking on the upper part of the femur, it consisted of a circle and a number, carved very deeply in the bone. All twelve of the bodies had it. They were also tortured..."

She stopped and looked at Castle, who leaned over and put an arm around her, comforting her through touch.

"Would you like me to continue?" he asked quietly

"No, i can." she replied just as quietly.

"They were tortured so badly, their skin removed while they were alive, the marks carved into them when they were aware of what was going on. Each person had hundreds of fractures on their hands and feet indicating that they had been hit repeatedly. And other things... things that i...i cant repeat. Castle helped me ID them, six were from our group that had gone missing, others were nameless people that were from villages around the site. The authorities, they didn't want to do any investigating, but our government wanted answers, and so Castle and I followed leads, and found out what had happened, why it happened and to whom. What we found out, it was...barbaric. This man, Nkruma Salou, he had read an ancient remedy that had been passed down through his family. You had to consume the skin of the clock in order to reverse the effect time had on your body. He confessed to what he had done, when we finally caught up to him. He told us why and how, but had refused to give up the location of the scroll that had the instructions on it. We... lets just say that he never left the room that we had interrogated him in. I made sure of that. So at this time, i have no idea who can be doing this, and as far as i can tell, this, what we saw there, is what we are dealing with here. Although it will have to be a copycat, seeing as how the original is...no longer with us."

"The skin of the clock? What, exactly, does that mean?" Beckett asked

"Twelve bodies, twelve spots on the clock, the twelve numbers. After the ashes are moved, you will see a circle that runs right on the outside of where the hanging chains are placed, as well as the time of when the person who is doing the spell is born. The numbers go opposite of a normal clock. That is to signify time going backwards. And to be honest, i have no idea about why one would...do what is done to the victims."

"So, if the original guy is dead, then who would have been able to find the scroll, figure out what it wanted and put it into action?" Booth asked.

"I have no idea, Nkruma Salou had no living relatives, and there were only a few people from our group besides us who even knew we had him, and even then they didn't know why we had him." Castle said.

"We need more information. Maybe we can find a tie between the victims. Let's head over to the morgue, Castle and i can get the information from the bones that we need, maybe see if we can get some usable DNA" Brennan said as she stood.

"It'll take weeks for DNA here..." Beckett said hesitantly.

"I will be sending this all the Jeffersonian. Some will be done by tomorrow night, depending on the quality of the specimen" Brennan said, as the rest of the group and herself began to move towards the door.

Beckett, who had been leading the group, stopped just short of the door and turned to face Castle "Castle, how in the heck do you know how to do all those things with the bones?"

"I took several classes dealing with the human body in university. And of course Barbie girl here taught me a lot over the years." he said with a fond smile gracing his lips. And with that the group left the apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

_Authors note: Yay! For those of you who have alerted this story, you get a double dose tonight! I wont be able to update tomorrow, so i am going throw this up tonight. It is just kinda a filler chapter, but its helps explain a few things. Anyways, enjoy and remember to review! It makes me want to write faster!_

"So Castle, why do you call her Barbie girl?" Beckett asked after pulling out into the heavy New York traffic.

With a smile on his face Castle explained "Ya know that song, Barbie Girl?"

"Ya, that one by...what was their name? Aqua!"

"Yes, that's the one. It was Halloween of the same year that they had released it, and so it was really big. And Alexis _loved_ that song, i mean _loved_. I think she probably listened to it a million times a day. So, Bren and i were trying to decide what to be for Halloween that year, she was staying with us during a conference. Alexis begged for two days for us to go as Barbie and Ken dolls. In the end we agreed, with one caveat. I wasn't going to go as Ken, i would go as GI Joe, it's more manly. So, we dressed up and headed out to our favourite spot. After a few too many drinks, that stupid song came on, and somehow, we both ended up on the bar dancing and singing to it. I'm just glad they didn't have IPhones back then!" He laughed out loud at the memory.

"That sounds like it would have been interesting to see, and hear"

"Hey! I will have you know that i am an excellent singer!"

With that statement he got the classic Beckett eye-roll, "Right Castle, you will just have to prove it too me some day, how about a department wide karaoke sing-off? You can prove it in front of 20 people" she laughed.

"Only if you get up there and sing with me, my dear detective. Ooo, we can sing I've Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher!" he exclaimed, a hopeful look on his face.

"Remember Castle. I. Have. A. Gun."

"Bones, why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Booth asked Brennan as they followed the Detective's car out of the parking lot, the hurt in his voice obvious.

"Which part Booth? If your wondering why i never told you about Castle, its because our lives are complicated enough. When he became famous after his first book came out, we decided to keep things quiet between us. I had already acquired some fame in the scientific community, and he the rest of the world, and it just worked that way. And when i started to write, after his urgings, we kept it that way to keep the fans off our backs. I am sorry Booth, its just that he is both a big part of my life, and a small part. We see each other only a few times a year, and we only talk a few times a month, but like you, i trust him implicitly. He really is like the brother i missed all those years. And while i am upset about this case, i am also glad that you now have the chance to meet him. And if your wondering about the case, its because i couldn't... Just like you still cant tell me some of the things that you did while you were working for the army. Its too hard. I would have eventually... its just hard."

Booth could hear the pain in her voice, and could almost feel how much she hurt. Looking over at her, he could see tears pooled in her blue eyes, and so he reached over and took her hand in his, stroking his thumb over her fingers in comfort.

"Its OK Bones, it just surprised me is all. We will figure this out, and we will get this guy. I promise."

"Thank you Booth."


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry about the delay in posting, its been a week of busyness, as most of you will know lol. So here is the next chapter, hopefully i will have more tomorrow. Please enjoy and review!_

"Female, 18-25, approximately 152 cm, fracture of the left tibia and fibula at about age 8 possibly from a fall. Victim has a circle with the number one engraved very deeply in the upper left side of the left femur. There is evidence of the victim being beaten with a cylindrical weapon on the feet, hands and back. Several broken ribs, probably cause of death is internal bleeding from being punctured from the severely broken seventh rib." Brennan spoke clearly into the mouth piece of her hand held recorder, cataloguing all the injuries she could with her naked eye.

Looking across the room that was filled with the 13 victims, she saw Castle doing the same thing. The two of them were currently alone in the large lab room that had been allocated for them. There was an officer standing outside, on guard, just in case. This was Booths insistence, seeing as how whenever there was a serial killer or mass murderer on the prowl they seemed to fixate on her. Booth and Beckett had gone to send the DNA samples that they had drawn when they had gotten to the lab. Slipping off the glove that had been on her hand, she began to rub at her temples. She was tired, they had left DC at 5 in the morning, and even though she had slept on the trip, it was now nearing midnight, and she was tired. She also hadn't eaten very much, although Booth had said he was going to bring some food when him and Beckett had left. That was almost two hours ago, and she was starting to get worried.

"Castle, where do you think Beckett and Booth are?"

"They should be back anytime now i would imagine. Food here takes some time to get, and traffic is a nightmare, especially on a Saturday night. Why don't you text them, see where they are."

TB:to:SB

**Where are you?**

12:08AM 23/05/2011

SB:to:TB

**Hey Bones, we're just about back, took forever to find a place for supper w/veggie options**

12:15AM 23/05/2011

"They're on their way. How are you doing? Are you finding any anomalies you cannot identify as of yet?"

"Nope, I'm doing alright. I have an 18-25 year old female, a 40-50 year old female, and this one, at a glace" he said pointing down at the third body in from the right of the room "looks to be 25-32 female. You?"

"I have 2 18-25 year old females, a 55-65 female, and a 35-40 year old female. All of the victims I have examined seem to have given birth. Is the same true for yours?"

"Ahhh..."

"I'll come look, and show you"

She walked over to the body that Castle was standing next too, and pointed.

"**Look at the pelvis, see there" she pointed out the area.**

"Yes, I see, I probably won't remember, but I see" he laughed, then sobered quickly as he remembered where he was and why.

Brennan looked up at saw the pained look in his eyes, knowing that he was thinking about what these people went through, knowing that his over active imagination was causing him to think about what it would have been like, thinking that it could have been Alexis, Martha, herself or Beckett as one of the victims. Stripping off her gloves, she turned to face him full on

"Its not us. None of these people down here are us" Stepping into his arms she wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his shoulder, "we're all here, we're all safe" pulling back a little she looked onto his eyes "and we all know how to kick butt, well at least Beckett, Alexis and I do, and we both know that Martha doesn't leave the house without her .22"

"I know and your right" he said into her hair as she rested her head back on his shoulder "Its just hard, theses people down here are someones child, sister, brother, parent. Its just not fair that someone would do something like this"

Booth and Beckett had left their partners back at the lab, with security of course. With Brennan's history with killers, Booth was sure that she would need it. After asking (ordering) one of the younger uniforms to drive all the way to DC tonight with a vehicle full of samples for the lab there too deal with, and then finding a place for take-out with good veggie options (Brennan had said that McDics was out of the question) they were finally headed back.

"So how long have you and Castle been...together?"

"Well, he has been shadowing me for almost four years."

"No, i mean, as in a couple"

Spluttering Beckett turned to him "We are not a couple. We just work together, and eat supper sometimes together, and I shop with his daughter sometimes... What about you and _your_ partner?"

"Well, that's a story eight years in the making. And at this point, were not a couple...but were not not a couple."

"That makes no sense."

"Ya, i know. It's just hard to explain. What about you and Castle though? Because i gotta say, that guy really seems to be in love with you."

"I don't really know... I..." she stopped, not sure what to say and if she should. After all, she didn't even know this man, although he seemed to be really nice and very intuitive and good at his job.

"Hey," Booth said softly "I know that it seems like a lot to say and you don't really know me, but sometimes its best to talk about that kind of stuff with someone who isn't in your life. And I've been there."

Taking a deep breath, Beckett finally admitted what she had felt for a long time "Yes, i do love him...but its hard because of who he is, and what he does. He is the ultimate playboy. I guess i am just nervous that he will get bored and leave me."

"I think he loves you too, and if he has been around for as long as he has, with no real rewards, i doubt he would screw it up for a screw. You should give him a chance. And you can tell that he is devoted to those he loves, i think i know as much about his daughter and mother as i do about Parker, my son" he said on a laugh.

"Thanks Booth, I'll think about what you said and take it into consideration." Staring out the side window of the SUV (he had pulled rank and was the one driving) Beckett did think about what he had said. Yes, she loved him, and yes she wanted him, but at what cost. Glancing back at Booth, she pushed all her raging thoughts to the back of her head, and decided to think about all that after this case was over.


	6. Chapter 6

_Yay, here is some more! Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! Oh, and its very fluffy._

"Here you are lady and gentleman, supper!" Booth announced as he and Beckett walked into the morgue. Not seeing other duo immediately, Booth quickly scanned the room until he saw them, both were sitting a counter that ran the length of the room looking very tired.

"Hey Booth" Brennan said as she and Castle slowly slid their feet to the floor. "I think were done for tonight, will supper hold till we get back to Castle's? I didn't sleep last night very well, and i believe that we have done all we can do here tonight. We have basics on all the victims, and i have sent x-rays of the skulls to Angela, so that she can start the reconstructions"

"Sure Bones...ah, are we staying at Castle's?"

"Is that alright with you? It is a secure building, and Alexis is out of town, so there's enough room. And its a lot more comfortable than a hotel...I got those new number mattresses!" Castle said, as the four of them made their way out of the building "and i just got a new 102' flat screen TV! It's awesome" he said excitedly as Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Well, you guys have a good night, I'm going to head home, I assume since your going there anyways you can take Castle with you?" Beckett said, her last sentence aimed at Booth.

"But what about supper? Beckett you should come with us. Heck, stay over the night. I think you still have some clothes there from when your place was blown up."

"Castle, if I do that there won't be enough places for people to sleep."

"Yes there is. Mother is still out of the country, so there is still an empty bed, and Suzie was in today, so all the beds have new sheets."

Sighing loudly, but secretly happy, Beckett just rolled her eyes "Fine" she said to Castle "We'll meet you there" she continued on to Booth and Brennan as her and Castle made their way to her car.

(INSERT LINE BREAK)

By the time that they had gotten to Castle's loft, ate and settled into their rooms, it was just after two in the morning. Brennan had taken Alexis' room, Beckett had Martha's and Booth had the spare room. Each crawled into the comfortable beds to sleep.

Beckett woke from her peaceful slumber slowly. Reaching over to the nightstand to find her usual glass of water, she instead found...nothing. She quickly remembered where she was, and groaning to herself climbed out of bed to get a water bottle from the fridge downstairs. Normally she wouldn't bother, but she was incredibly thirsty. Making her way down the stairs, she heard muffled talking from Castle's room, which was on the main floor. Walking towards his half opened door, she glanced in, expecting Brennan to be in there, and the two of them talking, but instead, Castle was tangled up in his sheets, with a look of fear and anger on his face. Slowly she walked into his room, not wanting to startle him, just in case he lashed out, as she would if she were in a nightmare. As she got closer, she could see a few tears working their way down his face, and sweat beaded at his forehead.

"Castle, wake up" She said, just over a whisper. As soon as she said his name, he seemed to calm down a little bit. Leaning over the bed, she put her hand on his shoulder, and gently shook him. "Castle, you need to wake up, its just a dream"

His eyes snapped open, and he looked wildly around the room, breathing heavily until his gaze met with hers. Reaching up, he slowly touched her face, running his hands down her cheeks, through her hair, before he brought them to his own face, covering his eyes. Taking a deep breathe he wiped the lingering tears off his temples and looked at her again.

"What are you doing up?" he asked in a hushed and distracted voice.

"I needed a drink, and then I heard-"

"Ya, sorry about that" he said cutting her off "I ahh... sometimes..."

"I know, I have them too" she looked down her hands, which were now resting in her lap as she sat beside him on the bed. "Mostly they are my mom, or you, and lately Alexis...and I-I cant find you guys, I cant...I can't save you."

Sitting up, he reached over and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close to him.

"Mine are the same, only I am identifying you, or Alexis, or Mother or Bren. I am looking down at your bones laid out on a table, all that's left of you. Your bones. You've been tortured or burned, beaten and raped...and I wasn't there to stop it."

She nestled her head into the crook of his neck. "Oh Castle" was all she said. She followed him as he lay down, and she curled her body around his, hoping to give him some comfort, and truthfully, receive some as well. Slowly they both fell into an untroubled sleep, Kate's need for water completely forgotten.

(INSERT LINE BREAK)

Brennan couldn't fall asleep. This case was going to be hard, and she was already dreading it. Looking at the clock beside her, she huffed out a sigh. It had already been an hour and she still hadn't been able to fall asleep. Admitting defeat, she climbed out of the bed that had taken so long to get warm, and she softly padded her way to the bedroom down the hall. Opening the door quietly, she slipped through and made her way to his bed. Pulling the blankets back, she slid between the sheets and snuggled into his side, laying her arm across his stomach and tucking her head onto his shoulder. He mumbled a quite hello as he brought his arm around to hold her close. Sighing contentedly this time, she fell into a deep sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello again everyone. Sorry its taken so long to update, i lost my muse for this one, but i am forcing myself to finish it today. So hopefully i will actually do that! Please read, enjoy and review if you want to!_

It was late the next day when Booth and Beckett made their way back to the morgue where Brennan and Castle were working. Walking in, they saw a repeat of the night before, only this time each body was encased in a body bag, ready for transport.

"Hey-hey, everyone. How'd it go?"

"We have identified all of the remains, we are just waiting on confirmation, but, as far as I am concerned they are done. And I want to send all of the remains back to the Jeffersonian" Brennan said quickly, as she made her way over to Booth.

"Alright, so who do we have then?" Beckett asked as she moved a little closer to Castle, wanting to touch him, hug him, but knowing that she couldn't.

"I will start at the right and work my way left; they are arranged per time of death:

First victim was Casey Halpurn, 24, 62 days

Second: Michelle Anderson, 52, 55 days

Third: Kandace Pelly, 34, 49 days

Fourth: Rain Teller, 30, 47 days

Fifth: Barbra Dowell, 62, 40 days

Sixth: Penny White, 32, 36 days

Seventh: Annie Jones, 22, 30 days

Eighth: Kathy Brown, 38, 27 days

Ninth: Hailey Harris, 26, 20 days

Tenth: Nancy Morgan, 18, 14 days

Eleventh: Becca Newman, 20, 11 days

Twelve: Helen Mercer, 42, 5 days.

Brennan walked along the line of bodies, touching the end of each on as she said their names and ages and approximate time of death.

"All of these women, except for" looking down at her papers "Penny White, have had a child. And of course, the guard which we had identified yesterday as Calvin Morris. I have Angela running through databases to see if any of them know each other, but that is going to take until at least tomorrow. What did you guys find out today?"

"Not much, the owner of the warehouse has been out of the country for three months, visiting his family in England. CSU has determined that the victims had been held in the basement of the warehouse, and it looks like that is where they were tortured and killed and then stored with the next victim. The security guard was a new addition, as the owner had gotten a few calls from a neighbouring owner about seeing someone lurking around the building. He had been working there for about a week, which makes the last victim being dead about 5 days make sense, she would have been taken in before he was hired." Booth told them

"You mean someone saw somebody lurking around there, but never called the police?" asked Castle.

"No, according to police reports, they were called a few times, but after a closer inspection of the building, they found all the doors and windows were secure. They said it was probably just teenagers drinking, and the alcohol bottles scattered around supported their conclusion" Beckett explained.

"Well, Angela is going to run the program over night, but had to get home to be with Dahlia, so we might as well follow her example and head out. I have all of the x-rays and the analysis on the particulates on my computer, so I can work from the comfort of the loft, if that is OK with everyone else. I seem to dislike this room, it has no windows." Brennan said as she packed up her things.

"Alright Bones, lets go, I could do with a night in. And despite the fact that I had a good sleep last night, it wasn't long, so it would be good to have an early night."

"Beckett, are you going to join us?" Castle asked, hoping that she would.

Beckett looked at Castle, and bit her lower lip, she wanted too, and this morning wasn't awkward, despite the fact that they slept in each others arms for a few hours, and so, going against most everything in her mind, she said yes.

"Okay, but I need to stop by my place to change.

(INSERT LINE BREAK)

An hour later, the foursome where sitting in the loft grazing on the takeout that they had grabbed on the way home. Castle and Beckett were on lounging chairs, and Booth and Brennan were almost, but not quite, cuddled up on the couch. Brennan had her computer open before her, the windows cascading for easy perusal. Her quick brain was taking pieces of evidence from each report and analyzing it. Just as she was about to close it up and attempt to be sociable her email icon lit up. Clicking on the new email, she saw it was the histories on all the victims of this case.

"The backgrounds are back on the victims" she announced to the room as she began to open each one.

"Bones, are you going to go through them tonight?" Booth asked as he shifted over slightly to better see the screen.

"Of course Booth. It will only take a short time to read through each one."

"Brennan are you sure? It is getting late and none of us had much sleep last night" Castle said with a sideways glance at Beckett.

"It is only nine-thirty. I won't be able to sleep until I do read them, so I might as well start now, rather than wake up at three in the morning and do it."

Booth shrugged his shoulders and began his conversation with Beckett and Castle again as his partner read through the backgrounds. Forty minutes later, Brennan was still engrossed in the files, and Beckett was half-asleep in her chair when Castle stood up and said it was time for bed. Reaching over, he helped a very sleepy Beckett stand up, and he led her up the stairs to her room, under the guise of him needing to grab something from up there.

"Bones, I think its time for bed. Ready?" Booth asked as he stood up. Looking back down at his partner, he saw a look on her face. It was the look she got when she was onto something. "What is it Bones? Do you have a connection?"

She glanced up from her computer and looked into Booth's tired face. "I am unsure at this point, but I might have found something. It seems that all the women went to the same gynaecologist. All would have been high risk pregnancies..." She trailed off as she kept reading. "Yes, it seems that Doctor Maleta Tsu specializes in pregnancies with a combination of high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. Some of these women have seen her within the last few months and some haven't seen her in some years. I believe that we should start there in the morning. But you are correct, it is late and I am tired." She flicked her laptop shut and handed it to Booth, who took it and offered her a hand to stand up.

As they were making their way upstairs, Castle was making his way down, with a book in his hand. He gave them a smile and a goodnight, and they did the same.

They had reached the door to Brennan's room when they both stopped. Looking up at Booth, Brennan felt awkward. She wanted to stay with him tonight, but wasn't sure if he wanted that as well.

"Booth, can i stay with you"

"Bones stay with me tonight"

They spoke at the same time, then smiled at each other. Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to his room. Booth pulled off his clothes and climbed into bed wearing his usual boxers, and Brennan tossed her clothes aside and grabbed a large t-shirt out of Booth's bag before climbing in beside him, both content to do nothing more than fall asleep in each others arms.

Beckett couldn't believe what had just happened. Castle had kissed her. And not just kissed her, but _kissed _her. Toes curling, knees weak, kissed her. And then left her room. She didn't know what to make of it. She knew that he liked her, and she certainly liked him, but she was also worried about what the outcome of their coupling would be. She didn't want to be a notch. She wanted him forever. She heard Booth and Brennan making their way down the hall, and found it interesting when she only heard one door close. She smiled to herself. At least they were happy. Sighing she changed into her large night shirt and sat on the edge of the bed, unsure of what she wanted to do. Her heart was saying "go downstairs, climb into his bed and tell him". Her head was saying "Go, no, don't go. No, go, no, wait...". Fifteen minutes later, she finally made up her decision. Quietly walking down the stairs, she made her way to his bedroom. Slipping inside like the night before, she padded quietly to the bed and looked at him.

When he had heard the door open slightly, he had opened his eyes and saw that it was Beckett walking in, his heart had given a little jump. He loved her, he just wasn't sure how to say that to her, how to not frighten her away.

"Hey" she whispered.

"Hi" he whispered back.

"Castle, Rick, What are we doing?" she asked as she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed.

He had sat up by this point, his back resting on the head board and some pillows.

"I don't know Kate. What do you want us to be doing" there wasn't a hint of playfulness or sexual innuendo.

"I don't want to be a notch, Rick. I don't want to be a conquest."

Rick leaned forward and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. "Kate, there is no way you could or ever would be just a notch to me. Well, maybe after our first case, but now? Now you mean so much more to me. You are there for my daughter when she needs you, you help my mother with problems. Kate, I am fairly sure you are my done, and I am your one. I love you Kate, and I have for some time"

Kate looked deeply into his blue eyes, and she could see the love and the sincerity in them.

"I love you too, Rick" she said as a few tears slipped down her face. "I have just been so scared to see it, to acknowledge it. But I still want to take this slow. Get use to it, ya know?"

"Of course" he said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. Manoeuvring the blankets and their bodies around, they settled into the large bed comfortably before both drifted off into sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day the group was up and out to work early. All four had had great sleeps and were refreshed and alert. Meeting the boys at the 12th, they quickly got a live feed hooked up to Angela.

"Well, hello hot cops from New York!" was Angela's greeting as the screen came to life. Despite being married and having a child, Angela could still appreciate a good male specimen.

"Hello Angela" Brennan said as she began to read over the case up till now. "I have read over the backgrounds on all of the victims and have figured out that they have all seen Doctor Maleta Tsu. Is there anything else that I have missed?"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to everyone Bren?"

"Oh, ahh, I guess. Angela this is Richard Castle, Detectives Kate Beckett, Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito. Now, did i miss anything?"

"Hello everyone, I am Angela. It's nice to meet you. As you can tell my friend here is kinda into this case, so here we go:

All the victims were patients of Dr. Maleta Tsu as you said Bren. And only one of the victims does not have a child, Penny White. She had been trying to get pregnant for some time a few years ago, but then her marriage fell apart, and she began to work for the partner of Dr. Tsu, a..." Angela looked down at her paper "Dr. Constance Cianan. I have their pictures and backgrounds here, I'll just beam them to you."

A second later, two pictures flashed up on the large screen beside where Angela was. There was a gasp from both Brennan and Castle and they both narrowed in on the face on the right.

"That is not Dr. Constance Cianan. That is Dr. Lucy Ludwig. She was on the dig with us. I disliked her greatly. She was always trying to undermine my authority. I ended up sending her back to the states after she had crossed one to many of the locals. I was told some years later that she had died in a house fire."

"Well obviously she didn't. She tried to seduce me. It was horrible" Castle said with a shudder. "I even caught her slipping something into my drink. She was not a good person, and she was not a good doctor either. Scary even. Told the local tribe that they were wrong to have their babies at home, and that they should all come to see her when they went into labour. One woman did, and her child didn't survive. That was just after what happened, and Brennan sent her back to the states after the townsfolk said they would lay a curse on the whole dig if she stayed."

"I thought you didn't believe in curses Bones?"

"I don't. I was more worried about being attack at night by the men of the tribe. They are very good with their machetes. I believe we need to bring her in and question her."

The foursome left the precinct and headed over to the office where the doctors office was. Walking in, they were greeted by silence. This was odd as it was the middle of the morning, a time when most offices where packed with people. Beckett and Booth both pulled their guns from their holsters and began to move towards the back of the building, checking each exam room as they went. At the end of the hall was a door that was closed, it had been the only door that was closed in the whole office, and they could hear faint crying and a mans voice. Silently Booth signalled to the others that he was going to kick in the door, and they would enter.

Standing back, Booth gave one good kick to the door, and it swung open to reveal two women tied up to some chairs and a man standing over them.

"Micheal?" Brennan exclaimed when she saw the face of the man standing with a knife in his hand. He looked up and turned, with the knife raised to Lucy Ludwig/Constance Cianan's throat.

"Ah, the intrepid, amazing Doctor Temperance Brennan. Just the woman I wanted to see" Micheal said as he looked at Brennan. "And with her posse no less!"

"Micheal, what the hell are you doing?" Brennan asked chillingly.

"Oh, why don't you figure it out? You are, after all, the most brilliant person in the room! Can't you figure out that it was me? All these years I had been searching for that scroll, it was the reason I became who I became. A story passed down through the generations, stolen from an ancient tribe in the deep bush of Guatemala, all but one of the inhabitants slaughtered. Those people you were identifying, killed by my ancestors" he said.

"Why Micheal? Obviously I don't understand. Why don't you explain it to me." She said, not breaking eye contact with him. She knew she needed to keep him distracted so that Booth and Beckett could move into position. She could feel Castle's tension behind her, moving only slightly closer to her before she stopped him with a flick her her wrist. "Please explain to me how and why you did what you did."

"You want to know? I loved you! I saw you, wanted you. I possessed you for a short time. But that was all that I was allowed. Entrance into your body, but not into your mind. Not into your heart. Then, within years of becoming my student, you exceeded me. Became smarter, more accomplished. Better at the job. Then you went to that dig. The dig that I had wanted for years, the remains that I had been waiting for someone to discover! And they called _you._ Not me. My ancestors went there, looking for a rare tree, and instead found a society, a society based around ancient traditions and rituals. My blood saw the scroll for everlasting life, wanted to posses it. And so, in the night, they killed everyone. Except one. One boy who managed to run away with the scroll, and hide it somewhere in the jungle" By this time, Micheal had forgotten his hostages, and began to wave his knife around as he talked and paced a few steps.

"For years, the story had been passed down, most of the people who heard it were disgusted by it. But not me. I knew that if I could posses this, and become immortal, you would be mine. I could make you mine, posses your mind, body and soul. Then, while down there, you find someone doing the exact thing I wanted to do. And so I had my faithful Lucy" and with this, he ran the knife down the side of her cheek leaving a small cut that slowly began to well blood "follow you, annoy you, everything. My hope was that you would quit. I was second choice, but I needed to be there. Then you killed him. You killed the one man who could know where the scroll was. And then you sent Lucy home. I could posses her, yes. She was infatuated by me. At first. But then she realized what and who I was. There was nothing for her to go to the police with, and so she ran, changed her name, profession, and looks. But it wasn't good enough. I saw her picture one day in the paper. And I followed her here. I told her I would leave her alone if she would tell me everything she remembered from the dig. And so she did."

Micheal had resumed his pacing and was fiddling with the knife in his hands. His eyes were wild and he took notice of no one but the woman in chairs and Brennan.

"I learned everything I needed to know, and so I went down to Guatemala and searched. This was almost two years ago. I came back, armed with knowledge and the ability to become immortal. And so I did what was asked of me. It was my right."

By this time, Booth and Beckett were both in position to take him down, but waited.

"It didn't work. I felt no change in me. I was suppose to be powerful. I was suppose to just summon you, and you were suppose to come. But you didn't. Until the bodies where found. Then I knew you would come. I followed you, listened in to conversations. Found out you were coming here to question Dr Ludwig and Dr. Tsu. So I came too." he looked up at Brennan, his eyes wide and eager. "And you came, you came to be with me." His voice was excited and a smile graced his lips, as he took as step forward, he dropped the knife in eagerness to touch Brennan. The second the knife was out of his hand, he was on the ground face down and getting cuffed.

"Temperance, wait! You are to love me too! You are ordered to be mine!" Micheal screamed into the carpet his face was crushed into.

"No, Micheal. I do not allow people to order me around. I choose who I love and who I am with. And it will never be you." Brennan told him as Booth hauled him to his feet. She looked into the crazy mans face "And I choose to be with Booth. I have chosen to let Booth into my heart, body, and most importantly, my mind." With that, she turned and left the room.

_A/N: Whoa, didn't see that coming myself, How about you? I literally was typing and then it was like Micheal, and I'm like __**what?**__ So hope you liked it. There will be an epilogue, i am going to post it asap. Yay!_


	9. Chapter 9

**One year later**

Brennan stood at the front of the church, beside one of her best friends, waiting for the ceremony to start. Just as the music began to play for the bridesmaids to start walking down the aisle she felt another pain flash across her distended belly, this one more intense than the others she had been having off and on during the day. Taking deep calming breathes, she got through the contraction without anyone but Booth noticing that something was off. He was sitting in the front row of the small church and was watching her intently while the rest of the occupants were watching Alexis walking towards them in a shimmering gold gown. Behind her was Lanie, in a matching dress. Just as another one ripped across her stomach, the doors opened further, admitting a radiant Kate, on the arm of her father. They walked slowly down to meet the waiting groom, smiles on their faces.

The rings were exchanged, the vows made, the register signed. Just as the newly married couple sealed the deal with a long lingering kiss, Booth shot out of his seat as Brennan doubled over in pain, the deep blue of her dress turning almost black as her water broke.

"Bones!"

"Booth, I think I need to go to the hospital" She said, panting slightly.

Castle and Beckett-Castle turned and looked at her "I should say so! Your water broke Barbie-girl!" Castle said laughingly. "Best. Wedding. Ever!"

Kate smiled at her husband as she moved to help Booth escort Brennan out to one of the waiting cars.

"Well, at least we can't forget this one's birthday!" She said with a smile as she lifted the edge of the blue gown into the car. "Phone us after the birth OK? Or if you need any help! We will take care of everyone here." And with that Booth rushed Brennan to the hospital.

Kate turned and looked at her husband, who had followed them out with the hospital bag that the Booth's had brought to the wedding, just in case. They smiled at each other, and then went back into the building to let everyone else know what was going on.

Several hours later, Rick and Kate were just finishing up yet another dance at their reception when his phone rang. After checking who it was, he answered to hear Booth's excited voice.

"It's a girl! We have a girl! Healthy, perfect in every way. Ten fingers, ten toes. Seven pounds, six ounces, 21 inches long. Her name is Alexandrea Christine Booth!"

Rick and Kate congratulated the new parents, and hung up, both with huge smiles on their faces and promises to visit first thing in the morning. They had planned on this, so their honeymoon wasn't actually for another three weeks. Striding up to the small sound set-up, he grabbed the microphone and addressed the friends and family that had gathered in Washington DC for their wedding.

"Everyone! Booth and Bren just phoned and let us know that they had the baby! Her name is Alexandrea Christine Booth, and she is seven pounds six ounces and perfect. Bren is tired but happy." after the applause died out, Beckett walked up to her husband and took the microphone from his hand.

"And I would like to make an announcement as well." only a few people in the room knew what she was going to say, and they all had giant smiles on their faces, as did Rick and Kate. "In about seven months, our amazing, dysfunctional family will have another member" and with that she lowered her hand to cover the barely there bump. The room erupted in applause again and Rick took Kate and dipped her for a kiss.

_OMG the end. Thanks for reading, and ignoring all the mistakes lol! Hope you liked it!_


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